President Irfaan Ali yesterday commissioned a state-of-the-art X-ray machine in Linden and announced that residents of Coomacka over the course of the week will receive 100 black tanks of water to help cope with the prolonged dry season.
The latter announcement came during a ministerial outreach in Region 10 following the commissioning ceremony for the new X-ray machine at the Linden Hospital Complex.
Ali also announced that the community of Coomacka is slated to benefit from a well.
“And I know that one of the …challenges for you in this community is the access to water, but GWI would have done some work on the well but they have found the iron content to be too high, so they are now going to invest in a deep water well and before the yearend works will commence”, he stated.
“But we are not going to wait on that completion, we know that we have vulnerable people here in these communities and immediately we will make 100 black tanks available with water for those persons here in the community so that they can have water storage capacity and more so water”, we understand what is happening with this El Nino season”, the Head of State added.
Residents at the outreach also raised concerns over the regularization of their land titles in a few communities neighbouring Coomacka, which Ali said will be rectified by the Central Housing & Planning Authority (CH&PA) which was present.
The US$130,000 digital X-ray machine and an ambulance are expected to boost health services in the region. The new machine produces digital X-ray images, eliminating the need for traditional film processing. Several of these machines were recently commissioned in Berbice.
The Head of State in his address at the commissioning ceremony said that the procurement of “this state-of-the-art device is evidence of his government’s commitment towards delivering quality healthcare to all citizens.
He said “Today, it’s not just about launching the most advanced X-ray unit in Guyana but our government is establishing relationships with top doctors in India, Mount Sinai, and Canada, so that you the Guyanese people can experience standard health care services”.
The images from the X-ray machine can be expeditiously transmitted to experts for their professional assessments.
According to Ali, the government is heavily investing in upgrading the Linden Hospital Complex and connecting it as a main pivot to other health facilities across the region.
He said that the upgrades to the medical facility include the development of a landing pad for medevacs.
Healthcare hub
“These investments form integral components of a comprehensive strategy aimed at establishing a healthcare hub in Guyana, designed to serve not only the local region but also extend its reach to a broader geographical scope”, the President informed.
“It is not only talking about our own needs anymore. We are building institutions and structure far beyond what we require here in Guyana,” Ali stressed.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony explained that the new technology will aid doctors to conduct assessment on X-ray images on screens or smartphones, facilitating quicker interpretations.
It also enables remote consultations, allowing X-rays to be sent to Georgetown for expert analysis.
Additionally, the health minister said a dedicated room has been allocated for the installation of a mammogram machine which will encourage women to undergo screenings.
The hospital is also equipped with a state-of-the-art ultrasound machine.
He informed that the Ministry of Health has embarked on a project to replace 14 analogue machines with digital X-ray machines.
